Cartilage allograft plug

ABSTRACT

The invention is directed toward a cartilage repair assembly comprising a shaped allograft structure of subchondral bone with an integral overlying cartilage cap which is treated to remove cellular debris and proteoglycans and milled allograft cartilage in a bioabsorbable carrier. The shaped structure is dimensioned to fit in a drilled bore in a cartilage defect area so that either the shaped bone or the cartilage cap engage the side wall of the drilled bore in an interference fit and is in contact with a milled cartilage and biocompatible carrier mixture allowing cell transfer throughout the defect area. A method for inserting the shaped allograft structure into a cartilage defect area is also disclosed.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/438,883 filed May 16, 2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,901,457, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention is generally directed toward an implant and is more specifically directed toward an allograft implant having a cartilage face and bone body which has been treated to remove cellular debris and proteoglycans and is shaped for an interference fit implantation in a shoulder or knee joint. The implant is provided with channels which allow transport of cellular materials throughout the implant site to stimulate cartilage growth

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Articular cartilage injury and degeneration present medical problems to the general population which are constantly addressed by orthopedic surgeons. Every year in the United States, over 500,000 arthroplastic or joint repair procedures are performed. These include approximately 125,000 total hip and 150,000 total knee arthroplastics and over 41,000 open arthroscopic procedures to repair cartilaginous defects of the knee.

In the knee joint, the articular cartilage tissue forms a lining which faces the joint cavity on one side and is linked to the subchondral bone plate by a narrow layer of calcified cartilage tissue on the other. Articular cartilage (hyaline cartilage) consists primarily of extracellular matrix with a sparse population of chondrocytes distributed throughout the tissue. Articular cartilage is composed of chondrocytes, type II collagen fibril meshwork, proteoglycans and water. Active chondrocytes are unique in that they have a relatively low turnover rate and are sparsely distributed within the surrounding matrix. The collagens give the tissue its form and tensile strength and the interaction of proteoglycans with water give the tissue its stiffness to compression, resilience and durability. The hyaline cartilage provides a low friction bearing surface over the bony parts of the joint. If the lining becomes worn or damaged resulting in lesions, joint movement may be painful or severely restricted. Whereas damaged bone typically can regenerate successfully, hyaline cartilage regeneration is quite limited because of it's limited regenerative and reparative abilities.

Articular cartilage lesions generally do not heal, or heal only partially under certain biological conditions due to the lack of nerves, blood vessels and a lymphatic system. The limited reparative capabilities of hyaline cartilage usually results in the generation of repair tissue that lacks the structure and biomechanical properties of normal cartilage. Generally, the healing of the defect results in a fibrocartilaginous repair tissue that lacks the structure and biomedical properties of hyaline cartilage and degrades over the course of time. Articular cartilage lesions are frequently associated with disability and with symptoms such as joint pain, locking phenomena and reduced or disturbed function. These lesions are difficult to treat because of the distinctive structure and function of hyaline cartilage. Such lesions are believed to progress to severe forms of osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is the leading cause of disability and impairment in middle-aged and older individuals, entailing significant economic, social and psychological costs. Each year, osteoarthritis accounts for as many as 39 million physician visits and more than 500,000 hospitalizations. By the year 2020, arthritis is expected to affect almost 60 million persons in the United States and to limit the activity of 11.6 million persons.

There are many current therapeutic methods being used. None of these therapies has resulted in the successful regeneration of hyaline-like tissue that withstands normal joint loading and activity over prolonged periods. Currently, the techniques most widely utilized clinically for cartilage defects and degeneration are not articular cartilage substitution procedures, but rather lavage, arthroscopic debridement, and repair stimulation. The direct transplantation of cells or tissue into a defect and the replacement of the defect with biologic or synthetic substitutions presently accounts for only a small percentage of surgical interventions. The optimum surgical goal is to replace the defects with cartilage-like substitutes so as to provide pain relief, reduce effusions and inflammation, restore function, reduce disability and postpone or alleviate the need for prosthetic replacement.

Lavage and arthroscopic debridement involve irrigation of the joint with solutions of sodium chloride, Ringer or Ringer and lactate. The temporary pain relief is believed to result from removing degenerative cartilage debris, proteolytic enzymes and inflammatory mediators. These techniques provide temporary pain relief, but have little or no potential for further healing.

Repair stimulation is conducted by means of drilling, abrasion arthroplasty or microfracture. Penetration into the subchondral bone induces bleeding and fibrin clot formation which promotes initial repair, however, the tissue formed is fibrous in nature and not durable. Pain relief is temporary as the tissue exhibits degeneration, loss of resilience, stiffness and wear characteristics over time.

The periosteum and perichondrium have been shown to contain mesenchymal progenitor cells capable of differentiation and proliferation. They have been used as grafts in both animal and human models to repair articular defects. Few patients over 40 years of age obtained good clinical results, which most likely reflects the decreasing population of osteochondral progenitor cells with increasing age. There have also been problems with adhesion and stability of the grafts, which result in their displacement or loss from the repair site.

Transplantation of cells grown in culture provides another method of introducing a new cell population into chondral and osteochondral defects. Carticel® is a commercial process to culture a patient's own cartilage cells for use in the repair of cartilage defects in the femoral condyle marketed by Genzyme Biosurgery in the United States and Europe. The procedure uses arthroscopy to take a biopsy from a healthy, less loaded area of articular cartilage. Enzymatic digestion of the harvested tissue releases the cells that are sent to a laboratory where they are grown for a period ranging from 2-5 weeks. Once cultivated, the cells are injected during a more open and extensive knee procedure into areas of defective cartilage where it is hoped that they will facilitate the repair of damaged tissue. An autologous periosteal flap with cambium layer is used to seal the transplanted cells in place and act as a mechanical barrier. Fibrin glue is used to seal the edges of the flap. This technique preserves the subchondral bone plate and has reported a high success rate. Proponents of this procedure report that it produces satisfactory results, including the ability to return to demanding physical activities, in more than 90% of patients and that biopsy specimens of the tissue in the graft sites show hyaline-like cartilage repair. More work is needed to assess the function and durability of the new tissue and determine whether it improves joint function and delays or prevents joint degeneration. As with the perichondrial graft, patient/donor age may compromise the success of this procedure as chondrocyte population decreases with increasing age. Disadvantages to this procedure include the need for two separate surgical procedures, potential damage to surrounding cartilage when the periosteal patch is sutured in place, the requirement of demanding microsurgical techniques, and the expensive cost of the procedure which is currently not covered by insurance.

Osteochondral transplantation or mosaicplasty involves excising all injured or unstable tissue from the articular defect and creating cylindrical holes in the base of the defect and underlying bone. These holes are filled with autologous cylindrical plugs of healthy cartilage and bone in a mosaic fashion. The osteochondral plugs are harvested from a lower weight-bearing area of lesser importance in the same joint. This technique, shown in Prior Art FIG. 2, can be performed as arthroscopic or open procedures. Reports of results of osteochondral plug autografts in a small numbers of patients indicate that they decrease pain and improve joint function, however, long-term results have not been reported. Factors that can compromise the results include donor site morbidity, effects of joint incongruity on the opposing surface of the donor site, damage to the chondrocytes at the articular margins of the donor and recipient sites during preparation and implantation, and collapse or settling of the graft over time. The limited availability of sites for harvest of osteochondral autografts restricts the use of this approach to treatment of relatively small articular defects and the healing of the chondral portion of the autograft to the adjacent articular cartilage remains a concern.

Transplantation of large allografts of bone and overlying articular cartilage is another treatment option that involves a greater area than is suitable for autologous cylindrical plugs, as well as for a non-contained defect. The advantages of osteochondral allografts are the potential to restore the anatomic contour of the joint, lack of morbidity related to graft harvesting, greater availability than autografts and the ability to prepare allografts in any size to reconstruct large defects. Clinical experience with fresh and frozen osteochondral allografts shows that these grafts can decrease joint pain, and that the osseous portion of an allograft can heal to the host bone and the chondral portion can function as an articular surface. Drawbacks associated with this methodology in the clinical situation include the scarcity of fresh donor material and problems connected with the handling and storage of frozen tissue. Fresh allografts carry the risk of immune response or disease transmission. Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation (MTF) has preserved fresh allografts in a media that maintains a cell viability of 50% for 35 days for use as implants. Frozen allografts lack cell viability and have shown a decreased amount of proteoglycan content which contribute to deterioration of the tissue.

A number of United States Patents have been specifically directed towards bone plugs which are implanted into a bone defect. Examples of such bone plugs are U.S. Pat. No. 4,950,296 issued Aug. 21, 1990 which discloses a bone graft device comprising a cortical shell having a selected outer shape and a cavity formed therein for receiving a cancerous plug, and a cancellous plug fitted into the cavity in a manner to expose at least one surface; U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,762 issued Mar. 21, 2000 having a cylindrical shell with an interior body of deactivated bone material and U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,811 issued Jun. 4, 2002 directed toward a bone spacer which has a cylindrical cortical bone plug with an internal throughgoing bore designed to hold a reinforcing member. U.S. Pat. No. 6,383,211 issued May 7, 2002 discloses an invertebral implant having a substantially cylindrical body with a throughgoing bore dimensioned to receive bone growth materials.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,379,385 issued Apr. 30, 2002 discloses an implant base body of spongious bone material into which a load carrying support element is embedded. The support element can take the shape of a diagonal cross or a plurality of cylindrical pins. See also, U.S. Pat. No. 6,294,187 issued Sep. 25, 2001 which is directed to a load bearing osteoimplant made of compressed bone particles in the form of a cylinder. The cylinder is provided with a plurality of throughgoing bores to promote blood flow through the osteoimplant or to hold a demineralized bone and glycerol paste mixture. U.S. Pat. No. 6,096,081 issued Aug. 1, 2000 shows a bone dowel with a cortical end cap or caps at both ends, a brittle cancerous body and a throughgoing bore.

A number of patents in the prior art show the use of bone putty, pastes or gels to fill bone defects. U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,558 issued Mar. 1, 1994 discloses a flowable demineralized bone powder composition using an osteogenic bone powder with large particle size ranging from about 0.1 to about 1.2 cm mixed with a low molecular weight polyhydroxy compound possessing from 2 to about 18 carbons including a number of classes of different compounds such as monosaccharides, disaccharides, water dispersible oligosaccharides and polysaccharides.

A bone gel is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,073,373 issued Dec. 17, 1991. Bone lamellae in the shape of threads or filaments retaining low molecular weight glycerol carrier are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,314,476 issued May 24, 1994 and 5,507,813 issued Apr. 16, 1996 and the tissue forms described in these patents are known commercially as the GRAFTON® Putty and Flex, respectively.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,629 issued Oct. 18, 1994 discloses making a rigid gel in the nature of a bone cement to fill defects in bone by mixing biocompatible particles, preferably polymethylmethacrylate coated with polyhydroxyethylmethacrylate in a matrix selected from a group which lists hyaluronic acid to obtain a molded semi-solid mass which can be suitably worked for implantation into bone. The hyaluronic acid can also be utilized in monomeric form or in polymeric form preferably having a molecular weight not greater than about one million Daltons. It is noted that the nonbioabsorbable material which can be used to form the biocompatible particles can be derived from xenograft bone, homologous bone, autogenous bone as well as other materials. The bioactive substance can also be an osteogenic agent such as demineralized bone powder morselized cancerous bone, aspirated bone marrow and other autogenous bone sources. The average size of the particles employed is preferably about 0.1 to about 3.0 mm, more preferably about 0.2 to about 1.5 mm, and most preferably about 0.3 to about 1.0 mm. It is inferentially mentioned but not taught that particles having average sizes of about 7,000 to 8,000 microns, or even as small as about 100 to 700 microns can be used.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,128 issued Oct. 23, 1979 discloses a demineralized bone material mixed with a carrier to reconstruct tooth or bone material by adding a mucopolysaccharide to a mineralized bone colloidal material. The composition is formed from a demineralized coarsely ground bone material, which may be derived from human bones and teeth, dissolved in a solvent forming a colloidal solution to which is added a physiologically inert polyhydroxy compound such as mucopolysaccharide or polyuronic acid in an amount which causes orientation when hydrogen ions or polyvalent metal ions are added to form a gel. The gel will be flowable at elevated temperatures above 35° C. and will solidify when brought down to body temperature. Example 25 of the patent notes that mucopolysaccharides produce pronounced ionotropic effects and that hyaluronic acid is particularly responsible for spatial cross-linking.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,030,635 issued Feb. 29, 2000 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,437,018 issued Aug. 20, 2002 are directed toward a malleable bone putty and a flowable gel composition for application to a bone defect site to promote new bone growth at the site which utilize a new bone growth inducing compound of demineralized lyophilized allograft bone powder. The bone powder has a particle size ranging from about 100 to about 850 microns and is mixed in a high molecular weight hydrogel carrier which contains a sodium phosphate saline buffer.

The use of implants for cartilage defects is much more limited. Aside from the fresh allograft implants and autologous implants, U.S. Pat. No. 6,110,209 issued Nov. 5, 1998 shows the use an autologous articular cartilage cancellous bone paste to fill arthritic defects. The surgical technique is arthroscopic and includes debriding (shaving away loose or fragmented articular cartilage), followed by morselizing the base of the arthritic defect with an awl until bleeding occurs. An osteochondral graft is then harvested from the inner rim of the intercondylar notch using a trephine. The graft is then morselized in a bone graft crusher, mixing the articular cartilage with the cancerous bone. The paste is then pushed into the defect and secured by the adhesive properties of the bleeding bone. The paste can also be mixed with a cartilage stimulating factor, a plurality of cells, or a biological glue. All patients are kept non-weight bearing for four weeks and used a continuous passive motion machine for six hours each night. Histologic appearance of the biopsies have mainly shown a mixture of fibrocartilage with hyaline cartilage. Concerns associated with this method are harvest site morbidity and availability, similar to the mosaicplasty method.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,379,367 issued Apr. 30, 2002 discloses a plug with a base membrane, a control plug, and a top membrane which overlies the surface of the cartilage covering the defective area of the joint.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A cartilage allograft construct assembly comprising a plug with a subchondral bone base and cartilage cap for replacing of articular cartilage defects is used together with a milled cartilage in a biocompatible carrier forming a paste or gel which is added to the plug or placed in a bore which has been cut into the patient to remove the lesion defect area. Additives may be applied to the cartilage mixture in order to increase chondrocyte migration and proliferation. Each allograft construct can support the addition of a variety of chondrogenic stimulating factors including, but not limited to growth factors (FGF-2, FGF-5, IGF-1, TGF-β, BMP-2, BMP-7, PDGF, VEGF), human allogenic or autologous chondrocytes, human allogenic or autologous bone marrow cells, stem cells, demineralized bone matrix, insulin, insulin-like growth factor-1, transforming growth factor-B, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, hepatocyte growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor, Indian hedgehog and parathyroid hormone-related peptide or bioactive glue.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the anatomy of a knee joint;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic mosaicplasty as known in the prior art;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic perspective view of an interference fit cylindrical allograft osteochondral plug assembly in a defect site;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the osteochondral plug used in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a cylindrical interference fit allograft osteochondral plug assembly having throughgoing bores;

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the osteochondral plug used in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 shows a schematic perspective view of another embodiment of a mushroom shaped allograft osteochondral assembly in a defect site;

FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of the mushroom shaped osteochondral plug used in FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of an osteochondral plug with outside longitudinal channels.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed towards a cartilage repair assembly and method of treatment. The preferred embodiment and best mode of the invention is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. In the production of the invention, an allograft plug with a cartilage cap and hyaline cartilage are treated to remove cellular material, chondrocytes and pluripotent mesenchymal cells and proteoglycans, freezing same −20° C. to −80° C., and lyophilized reducing its water content.

In the treatment for cell and proteoglycan extraction the allograft cartilage and plugs which were previously harvested from a donor were soaked in hyaluronidase (type IV-s, 3 mg/mL), trypsin (0.25% in monodibasic buffer 3 ml) and the samples were placed in a test tube for 18 hours at 37° C. with sonication. It was found that sonication is not a necessary requirement and the times of soaking vary with concentration of hyaluronidase and trypsin and can be as little as 2 hours. The plug samples were decalcified, washed with DI water and placed in a 50%/50% chloroform/methanol solution for 72 hours to remove cellular debris and sterilize. The above method has been previously used on human tissue and is set forth in the Journal of Rheumatology, 12:4, 1985 by Gust Verbruggen et al., titled “Repair Function in Organ Cultured Human Cartilage Replacement of Enzymatically Removed Proteoglycans During Longterm Organ Culture.” After repeated washes with sterile DI water, the hydrated plug samples and cartilage were frozen at −70°0 C. and lyophilized to reduce the water content within the range of about 0.1% to about 8.0%. In an alternative usage, the plug samples and cartilage were frozen after processing.

The osteochondral plug 20 which has been treated as noted above is placed in a bore or core 60 which has been cut in the lesion area of the bone 100 of a patient with the upper surface 25 of the cartilage cap 24 being slightly proud or substantially flush with the surface of the original cartilage 102 remaining at the area being treated. The plug 20 has a subchondral bone portion 22 and an overlying integral cartilage cap 24. The length of the osteochondral plug 20 can be the same as the depth of the bore 60 or less than the depth of the bore 60. If the plug 20 is the same length, the base of the plug implant is supported and the articular cartilage cap 24 is level with the articular cartilage 102. If the plug is of a lesser length, the base of the plug implant is not supported but support is provided by the wall of the bore 60 or respective cut out area as the plug is interference fit within the bore or cut out area with the cap being slightly proud or flush with the articular cartilage 102 depending on the surgeon's preference. With such load bearing support the graft surface is not damaged by weight or bearing loads which can cause micromotion interfering with the graft interface producing fibrous tissue interfaces and subchondral cysts.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 the respective plug 20, 30 has an interference fit within bore 60. The osteochondral plug, which is generally referred to as a plug in the present description is also envisioned as having various shapes namely; a cylindrical shape 20, 30 as shown in FIGS. 3-6, a mushroom shape 40 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, and a channeled or grooved shape 50 as shown in FIG. 9.

The preferred embodiment is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 and has a cylindrical body 30 with a subchondral bone portion 32 and an overlying cartilage cap 34. A plurality of throughgoing bores 36 are drilled through the bone portion 32 and cap 34 to allow cell migration from a cartilage mixture which has been placed in the bore to promote cartilage growth. The cartilage mixture is more fully described later in the description of the invention.

Another embodiment is a mushroom shaped configuration 40 as is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 which has a cylindrical subchondral bone portion 42 and an overlying larger diameter cartilage cap 44. The cap 44 is larger in diameter than the body 42 and the periphery 47 of the cap extends past the cylindrical wall 43 of the body. If the cap 44 is the same size as the bore 60 then the body 42 has a length which will engage the floor of the bore 60 so that the cap 44 upper cartilage surface 45 is flush with the upper surface of the surrounding cartilage area 102. Alternately, a second stepped cut 61 may be made in the cartilage surface area down to the depth of the bottom of the cartilage layer which will support the base or lower extending surface 46 of the cap cartilage so that it is flush with the surrounding cartilage area 102 with the lower smaller diameter of the bore 62 being substantially the same as the diameter of the subchondral bone portion with the plug being held therein in an interference fit.

As shown in FIG. 9 the exterior surface of the implant 50 may be formed with grooves or channels 52 which can run longitudinally along the outside surface of the implant or alternatively just along the surface of the subchondral bone portion 22, 32, 42 ending at the bottom surface of the cartilage cap 24, 34, 44 overlying same. This variation of FIG. 9 also has an interference fit with the wall of the bore 62.

In operation the lesion or defect is removed by cutting a bore 60 or removing a lesion in the implant area 100 and filling the bore 60 or cut away area with a desired amount of a milled cartilage mixture and a biological carrier such as sodium hyaluronate, hyaluronic acid and its derivatives, gelatin, collagen, chitosan, alginate, buffered PBS, Dextran, or polymers and one or more additives namely chondrogenic stimulating factors including, but not limited to growth factors (FGF-2, FGF-5, IGF-1, TGF-β, BMP-2, BMP-7PDGF, VEGF), human allogenic or autologous chondrocytes, human allogenic cells, human allogenic or autologous bone marrow cells, human allogenic or autologous stem cells, demineralized bone matrix, insulin, insulin-like growth factor-1, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, hepatocyte growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor, Indian hedgehog and parathyroid hormone-related peptide. Depending upon the weight of the milled cartilage as noted in Examples 2 and 3 below, the mixture will have the consistency of a paste or gel. The plug 20 is then placed in the bore or cut away area in an interface fit with the surrounding walls.

Suitable organic glue material can be used to keep the implant fixed in place in the implant area. Suitable organic glue material can be found commercially, such as for example; TISSEEL® or TISSUCOL® (fibrin based adhesive; Immuno AG, Austria), Adhesive Protein (Sigma Chemical, USA), Dow Corning Medical Adhesive B (Dow Corning, USA), fibrinogen thrombin, elastin, collagen, casein, albumin, keratin and the like.

EXAMPLE 1

A non-viable or decellularized osteochondral plug consisting of a subchondral bone base and overlying cartilage cap was treated with a solution or variety of solutions to remove the cellular debris as well as the proteoglycans as noted in the treatment described above. It is believed that this removal provides signaling to stimulate the surrounding chondrocytes to proliferate and form new proteoglycans and other factors producing new matrix. The diameter or diagonal of the plug ranges from 1 mm to 30 mm but is preferably 4 mm to 10 mm which is small enough to fit through the endoscopic cannula, but large enough to minimize the number of plugs needed to fill large defects. This size provides good results at the recipient site and provides a more confluent hyaline surface. The thickness of subchondral bone can be modified to match the anatomy of the patient so that the surface cartilage of the plug will be even with and follow the surface contour of the surface cartilage of the host tissue. The treated plug also creates a more porous matrix, which allows more cells to enter. The plug and minced hyaline cartilage can be stored frozen or freeze dried and support any of the mentioned chondrogenic stimulating factors. The plug can be inserted arthroscopically similar to the mosaicplasty procedure or through an open incision. The plug and cartilage material can be made in various dimensions depending on the size of the defect being treated.

This design uses the allograft cartilage putty or gel as noted below in a prepackaged amount to provide cartilage cell growth for the osteochondral plug. The putty or gel enhances the tissue integration between the plug and host tissue.

The base of the bore or cut away area is provided with a matrix of minced cartilage putty consisting of minced or milled allograft cartilage which has been lyophilized so that its water content ranges from 0.1% to 8.0% ranging from 25% to 50% by weight, mixed with a carrier of sodium hyaluronate solution (HA) (molecular weight ranging from 7.0×10⁵ to 1.2×10⁶ or any other bioabsorbable carrier such as hyaluronic acid and its derivatives, gelatin, collagen, chitosan, alginate, buffered PBS, Dextran, or polymers, the carrier ranging from ranging from 75% to 50% by weight. The cartilage is milled to a size ranging up to 1 mm.

In gel form, the minced cartilage has been lyophilized so that its water content ranges from 0.1% to 8.0%, ranging from 15% to 30% by weight and the carrier ranges from 85% to 70% by weight. The particle size of the cartilage when milled is less than or equal to 1 mm dry. The cartilage pieces can be processed to varying particle sizes and the HA or other carrier can have different viscosities depending on the desired consistency of the putty or gel. This cartilage matrix can be deposited into the cartilage defect arthroscopically and fit into the defect where it is held in place by the implant which is placed over it as a cap.

Cells which have been grown outside the patient are inserted by syringe into the matrix before, during or after deposit of the cartilage matrix into the defect area. Such cells include allogenic or autologous, bone marrow cells, stem cells and chondrocyte cells. The cellular density of the cells preferably ranges from 1.0×10⁸ to 5.0×10⁸ or from about 100 million to about 500 million cells per cc of putty or gel mixture. This composite material can be injected into the cartilage defect arthroscopically as previously noted. This matrix can support the previously mentioned chondrogenic stimulating factors.

The operation of placing the cartilage defect assembly in a cartilage defect, comprises (a) drilling a cylindrical hole in a patient at a site of a cartilage defect to remove the diseased area of cartilage; (b) placing a mixture of milled allograft cartilage in a bioabsorbable carrier in the drilled cylindrical hole; and (c) placing the pretreated implant in the bore over the mixture of the inserted milled allograft cartilage in a bioabsorbable carrier in interference with the wall of the bore to contain the mixture in the cylindrical hole for a predetermined period of time to promote cartilage growth at the defect site.

When using the mushroom shaped embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 8 a second larger diameter bore is cut into the bone around the first bore and the cartilage layer is removed to present a stepped bore forming a seat upon which the lower surface of the overlying portion of the cartilage cap is seated.

The principles, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of the present invention have been described in the foregoing specification. However, the invention should not be construed as limited to the particular embodiments which have been described above. Instead, the embodiments described here should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Variations and changes may be made by others without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims: 

1. A method for repairing a defect in articular cartilage of a human patient, said method comprising the steps of: (a) providing milled allograft cartilage pieces; (b) combining the milled allograft cartilage pieces with a biocompatible carrier to form a cartilage mixture; (c) providing a non-decellularized osteochondral plug harvested from a human donor; (d) treating the non-decellularized osteochondral plug to remove cellular material, chondrocytes, pluripotent mesenchymal cells and proteoglycans therefrom; (e) lyophilizing the decellularized osteochondral plug to form a lyophilized decellularized osteochondral plug having a subchondral bone base and a cartilage cap attached to a first end of the subchondral bone base, (f) providing a plurality of passageways in the lyophilized, decellularized osteochondral plug, the passageways extending from the first end to a second end of the subchondral bone base; (g) implanting the cartilage mixture into a bore formed at the patient's articular cartilage defect; and (h) implanting the lyophilized, decellularized osteochondral plug into the bore so as to be in juxtaposition to the cartilage mixture, such that at least a portion of the cartilage mixture is received in the passageways to thereby promote chondrocyte migration into and proliferation within the cartilage cap, while enhancing tissue integration between the lyophilized, decellularized allograft osteochondral plug and patient tissue adjacent the bore.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the lyophilized, decellularized osteochondral plug is cylindrically shaped.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the passageways include throughgoing bores and said providing step (f) includes drilling the throughgoing bores in the subchondral bone base.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the passageways include longitudinal grooves and said providing step (f) includes forming the longitudinal grooves on an outer surface of the lyophilized, decellularized osteochondral plug.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein said step (f) includes forming the longitudinal grooves on an outer surface of the subchondral bone base.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the lyophilized, decellularized osteochondral plug has a diameter within a range of from 1 mm to 30 mm.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the lyophilized, decellularized osteochondral plug has a diameter within a range of from about 3 mm to about 10 mm.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the milled allograft cartilage pieces each have at least one dimension of less than 1 mm.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the milled allograft cartilage pieces are hyaline cartilage.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the cartilage mixture includes a chondrogenic stimulating factor.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the chondrogenic stimulating factor is one or more of a group consisting of growth factors (FGF-2, FGF-5, IGF-1, TGF-β, BMP-2, BMP-7, PDGF, VEGF), human allogenic or autologous chondrocytes, human allogenic or autologous bone marrow cells, stem cells, demineralized bone matrix, insulin, insulin-like growth factor-1, transforming growth factor-B, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, hepatocyte growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor, Indian hedgehog and parathyroid hormone-related peptide and bioactive glue.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the biocompatible carrier comprises one or more of a group consisting of sodium hyaluronate, hyaluronic acid and its derivatives, gelatin, collagen, chitosan, alginate, buffered PBS, Dextran and polymers.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the cartilage mixture includes milled allograft cartilage pieces which have been lyophilized so that their water content is within a range of from about 0.1% to about 8.0%.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the milled allograft cartilage pieces constitute a weight percentage of the cartilage mixture within a range of from about 25% to about 50%.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the milled allograft cartilage pieces constitute a weight percentage of the cartilage mixture within a range of from about 15% to about 30%.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein the lyophilized, decellularized osteochondral plug has a water content in the range of from about 0.1% to about 8.0%.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein the cartilage mixture includes an additive consisting of one or more of a group consisting of human allogenic cartilage cells, and human bone marrow cells.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein the bore is cylindrical and transverse to the cartilage surface surrounding the bore.
 19. The method of claim 1, wherein the bore is cylindrical and angled with respect to the cartilage surface surrounding the bore.
 20. The method of claim 1, wherein said step (h) is performed to create an interference fit between the lyophilized, decellularized osteochondral plug and an inner surface of the bore.
 21. The method of claim 1, wherein said step (h) is performed such that the cartilage cap of the lyophilized, decellularized osteochondral plug is substantially flush with the surface of the patient's adjacent cartilage.
 22. The method of claim 1, wherein said step (g) is performed prior to said step (h). 